Hi, folks. My name is Dan Handelman and I'm a member of Copwatch. We advocated the use of mediation to resolve minor civilian-police disputes way back in 1992.
Between the time the Mayor created a mediation program in November 1993 and July of this year, only 3 cases had been to mediation.
But now I've been there, and the number is growing.
There was an incident I witnessed outside my own home after which a Portland Police Officer chose to call me a derogatory name. I filed a complaint with Internal Affairs and requested mediation.
A few weeks later we met at a neighborhood center with two mediators and an observer. We hit a slight snag when he discovered I was a police accountability activist, but I let him know I was bound by mediation rules not to reveal anything he said, or his name, and out of respect for his showing up at all, I would leave out the details of the incident.
What's important is that the mediation did what it is primarily designed to do: allowed each of us to hear the other one's point of view. While no real closure happened in the forms of apologies or promises not to act the same way again, I think we both learned a lot about each others' point of view.
The mediators from the Office of Neighborhood Associations were very helpful in keeping us focused on the issues and trying to hear the other person's point of view. My main complaint was that at the beginning, we sat silently for 10 or 15 minutes while they explained the ground rules to us‹so it was hard to tell what kind of energy the officer was bringing to the mediation (or for he to check out my vibes).
I would suggest to anybody who feels that an internal affairs investigation and possible discipline are not really the desired outcome to a complaint against police should try going through mediation. I would recommend you go in with a positive attitude and not expect to "win" anything, or be "right." By hoping only that (a) I would be heard and (b) that I might learn something about the other person's point of view, I was able to feel satisfied by the process. And now, maybe there's a police officer out there thinking about things like the power dynamic created by the uniform, badge and gun which is no fault of his own; the need for citizens to watch police actions not only for protection of suspects, but for police as well; and, really maybe, thinking that next time he's going to use a derogatory name, maybe he should think how that person might react, and find a different way to express himself.
Peace,
Dan
People's Police Report #10 Table of Contents